Probably the best made for television (horror) movie of all times, or at least it is in the very top. 'The Night Stalker' wonderfully mixes the style of 1940s film-noir and '70s horror.When string of odd murders where victims are drained from blood occur in Las Vegas, a has been crime reporter Carl Kolchak (Darren McGavin) starts to investigate in the need for good story. Soon he discovers that the killer is indeed a real vampire. He warns the authorities, but Kolchak's discoveries are not heard, rather they want to quiet the relentless journalist, until the moment when police has to face the unstoppable killing machine in real life.As the film is made for television, it is pretty tame in the department of blood and gore, but that doesn't reduce the film's horror value a bit. The films winds up the tension with very first minutes and doesn't loose its focus and psychological suspense until the climatic finale between the heroic journalist and the vampire. The charismatic lead, who looks and sounds like he has stepped out of some '40s crime film, is supported by fantastic cast of interesting character actors. Screenplay is masterfully written by horror genius Richard Matheson. And the vampire is actually scary and threatening.

What a cast. Darren McGavin and Carol Lynley are more or less in their prime but the production has a striking assembly of supporting players that must by this time have been living on residuals -- Claude Akins, Kent Smith, Ralph Meeker, Elishah Cook Jr., and Charles McGraw whose face is now as mauled as his voice. Reminds me of John Ford's collection of falling stars in "The Last Hurrah." The plot is standard. McGavin is a hungry reporter in Las Vegas, always at odds with his boss, Simon Oakland, and pretty much hated by everyone else in authority. A number of young ladies are killed, their blood drained, and on the rare occasions when the killer is encountered, blunt force by the police doesn't stop him and neither do bullets. McGavin concludes that they're dealing with a vampire. When the scoffing is over, the authorities reluctantly accept his conclusion as well as his means of dealing with the vampire -- a crucifix, a wooden stake, and a mallet.The logic of the story is flawed. This is a kind of black comedy and a TV production so not much care goes into it. An informant tells McGavin the address of the vampire's house. The reporter then investigates the house, although it's night and we know the blood sucker is awake at night. Why not wait until dawn, you ask? Well, then you have no rough-and-tumble encounter between the Baron and McGavin. McGavin naturally loses the wrestling match but is saved by the arrival of a friend in the police department. Together -- and with the help of the crucifix and the Las Vegas desert sunlight -- they manage to destroy the monster. Not that it does McGavin any good. The police force the paper to kill the story and boot the reporter out of town.McGavin does well enough by the role of the cocky newspaperman. If sometimes he seems kind of dumb, well we all have our dumb moments. Lynley is luscious but is only there to prove that Darren McGavin's character is heterosexual. The supporting actors do the best they can with their roles. I prefer Kent Smith as the patient, reasonable, accommodating figure from the cat movies of Val Lewton. And I can't help wondering what Claude Akins would do in a sympathetic role.

Only in the glory days of television could you have a guy like Carl Kolchak-a middle aged reporter who's worn the same style of clothing for twenty plus years-be the main character and hero of a prime time event. Produced by legendary TV producer Dan Curtis and written by the equally talented Richard Matheson, "The Night Stalker" introduces us to that old school newspaper reporter Carl Kolchak, played by the late great Darren McGavin from "A Christmas Story", in what has to be one of his best and most iconic roles.Our story begins in the dazzling streets of Sin City, where a young woman is stalked and murdered by a creature of the night. Of course, the cops do everything in their power to try to cover up this fact but a certain dogged reporter just won't leave it alone (take a good guess who) much to their and Kolchaks's ever tortured boss ,Mr. Vincenzo's (Simon Oakland in his most memorable role) dismay. But as the bodies pile up, it soon becomes apparent to even the authorities, that only Kolchak has the answers to save the day. "Stalker" is a total blast to watch for several reasons but above all, Darren McGavin, who through his use of tape recordings, provides the audience with a straight forward and at times comical narration of events. Director John Llewellyn Moxey must also be praised for creating a spooky atmosphere for the film as well. And of course what vampire film would be complete without an effective Nosferatu and boy do we get it in the form of Barry Atwater, who may not say a whole lot, but manages to be quite memorable, I assure you! But there's something else I feel the film has and that is a grain of truth. Now I'm not saying that I believe in vampires; however in real life, when something strange is reported, something that defy's all natural logic, the authorities in charge-be they police, government, military,etc.-will never admit to the fact that they can't explain it. Rather, they will do everything in their power to down play the strange nature of the event by playing with words and burying the case as fast as they can (a fact that Kolchak learns the hard way). To sum it up, if you're in the mood for a fun filled, spooky movie, you can't go wrong with "The Night Stalker". Catch it on you tube sometime! Also starring Ralph Meeker, Claude Akins, Charles McGraw, and Carol Lynley.

***SPOILERS*** After a number of Las Vegas show girls are brutally murdered with their blood drained out of their bodies hard nosed reporter Carl Kolchak,Darrin McGavin, smells a big story in what he feels is behind those savage killings. Kolchak is certain that it was a vampire who did the women in and he was going to prove it even he ended up becoming one the the vampire's victims himself.With the Mayor and police commissioner of Las Vegas trying to prevent a city wide panic the thought that a legendary vampire was on the loose in the city Kolchak's story is put on hold with his editor Tony Vincenzo, Simon Okland, telling him to drop the whole thing and report on an upcoming beauty contest instead. It's when it become obvious to everyone even the city officials that some supernatural psycho with a craving for human blood is out killing people it's decided to finally go alone with Kolchak's plans in killing him. But only have it kept from the public together with the killer's by now some dozen drained of their blood of victims.The killer turns out to be 72 year old Romanian immigrant Jonos Skorzeny, Barry Atwater, whom it's found out has used a number of aliases in countries like Britain and Canada as well as here in the US over the last 50 or so years. Skorzeny used those phony names in him getting jobs as hospital orderlies and ambulance drivers where there's freshly dead, but still warm, people as well as blood banks available to him where he has access to the life giving human blood that he so desperately needs. Despite Skorzeny's craving for blood he also seems to be immune to bullets or anything thing else that can kill a mortal man and even worse has the strength of ten man despite his advance, in him being over 70 years old, age!***SPOILERS*** Reporter Kolchak finally hits pay-dirt when one of his stooges or informant little Mickey Crawford, Elisha Cook Jr, find out the address-13-13 Black Raven Lane-where Skorzeny spend his days locked up in his coffin. Kolchak now plans to do the guy in, when he's fast asleep and isn't looking, by driving a wooden stake through his evil heart and thus put an end to Skorzeny's regain of terror in the city of Las Vegas. Not quite sure what time of the day it is Kolchak, suffering from sleep deprivation, seemingly having lost his sense of time goes to confront and kill the sleeping in his coffin Skorzeny in almost the dead, or darkest before dawn, of night! In Kolchak not bothering to wait until the sun comes up where it would be suicide for Skorzeny to emerge from his deep sleep!Wild showdown between Kolchak and the vampire Skorzeny with Kolchak's good friend Las Vegas police detective Bernie Jenks, Ralph Meeker, joining in with the vampire in the darkness of night quickly getting the upper hand on the two of them. Just when it looked like curtains for both Kolchak & Jenks an attentive, in him finally knowing it's morning and about what turns vampires off, Kolchak pulled down a curtain in Skorzeny's lair and lets the sun shine in. Together with a crucifix and stake slammed into his heart Kolchak puts him on ice at the local city morgue together with his dozen or so victims. It was just too bad for Kolchak in that he couldn't file his big scoop of a story in what Skorzeny did and how he finished him off. That's in what kin of legal trouble he was in by being threatened by the Las Vegas police department and the city D.A Tom Pain,Kent Smith, with a murder indictment in him killing an "innocent man", Jonos Skorzeny. Since Skorzeny wasn't even arrested indited or tried for his crimes. It was in that way the city officials felt that the true story of the Vampire of Vegas would never see the light of day. Which was far more important to them then preventing the mass killings that Skorzeny committed in the city that Kolchak did everything possible, including risking his life,to prevent!